The present invention relates to punching and nibbling machines and more specifically to tool changer type machines having tool magazines and transfer mechanisms.
Punch presses are widely employed for producing cutouts of various shapes in workpieces. In a nibbling machine, the punch tooling is operated repetitively as the workpiece is being moved through the work station to produce a large cutout of a desired contour.
Although there are manually operated punch presses wherein the aperature moves the workpiece on the support table relative to the work station, most modern or high volume punch presses include an X-Y coordinate guide system and numeric control system to clamp and move the workpiece automatically in accordance with a predetermined program. Moreover, since many machines are intended to produce cutouts of various sizes and configurations, magazines of various types have been provided to carry a multiplicity of sets of punch and die tooling for use at the work station.
In some punch presses and nibbling machines, the cooperating punch and die tooling is respectively carried in upper and lower turrets which rotate the tooling into the operative work station position. One of the turrets is located below the support plane of the workpiece and the other is located thereabove; and the ram strikes the punch to drive it downwardly within the upper turret against the workpiece and into the die which is supported in the lower turret. As will be appreciated, such turret-type magazines occupy a substantial amount of space and impede access of the operator to portions of the press.
In tool changer punch presses, the tooling is stored in a tool storage portion, and a transfer mechanism is provided to move the desired tooling therefrom into the operating positions. Such tool changer type presses have the advantage of effecting firm coupling of the punch to the ram, and positive support for the die below the workpiece. However, such automatic tool changers also occupy a substantial amount of space and impede operator access to portions of the punch press.
Depending upon the mode of support for the turrets in a turret-type punch press and the method for effecting rotation thereof, and depending upon the mode of support for the tool changer magazine and transfer mechanism, the amount and direction of movement of the workpiece on the support table may be limited thereby.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and compact magazine and tool transfer mechanism for tool changer punch presses and the like.
It is also an object to provide such a mechanism so that the workpiece may move freely thereover, and which enables the operator to have ready access to the entire periphery of the press about the work station.
Another object is to provide a punch press and nibbling machine in which such a magazine and transfer mechanism is ruggedly constructed for long lived operation.